And for fried chocolate pies like I grew up with, you have to make your own chocolate paste out of sugar, butter, and cocoa powder, like my Aunt Sue does and you have to use the recipe that I put in my first cookbook, like I’m sharing with you here.

Note: You can make these with canned biscuit dough but they won’t be the same. They will still be good in a pinch though. You can also make these simply by sticking a mini chocolate bar inside each one – but it won’t be the same, either. They will still be good in a pinch, though! Just do what you have time to do and put your heart into it. The most important step in cooking isn’t the ingredients you use or how intricate the preparation, it’s the process of making something yummy for someone because you love them. That makes everything taste better.

Most of my family’s old recipes don’t use baking chocolate and such, but cocoa powder instead because it was so much more affordable.

Place flour, salt, and shortening in a bowl. Stir together really well and then cut the shortening into the flour with a long tined fork.

Or a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy.

Like this. See? I’m using my own cookbook for this recipe. That is one of the benefits of being a highly unorganized person who happens to have a food blog and a few published books – If it weren’t for these things I’d never be able to find any of my recipes.

Oh yeah, this is my photo of my shortening after it was cut into my flour.

Pour milk into flour mixture.

Stir it up really well.

You may need to add more milk, and that is perfectly okay. Add a tablespoon or so at a time until it forms a ball of dough.

Divide that up into ten ball shaped portions.

Look at the photo and see that Christy has only nine portions. Life is just like that sometimes.

In a medium mixing bowl, place melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.

Let your chocolate loving daughter come in for a good sniff…

Then let her stir it up really well.

It will form a paste. Note: This is a gritty chocolate paste and it is utterly delicious.

It’s like folks did in the old days and keep in mind folks were, by and large, an awful lot happier in the old days in most cases. Perhaps chocolate paste fried up inside homemade pies had something to do with this. It certainly couldn’t hurt.

Alright now we need to take each of those dough balls and make them into a 6 inch (or so) circle.

I usually roll mine out but I noticed here that my circles are a lot more like circles when I just pat the out.

See? This circle was rolled out but that previous perfect looking one was patted out.

Now place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each.

THEN, dip your fingertips in water and run them around the edges to help them stick together.

Fold over and crimp edges lightly with a fork.

Preheat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet on medium high for about five minutes, then turn it down to medium and carefully add your pies a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd.

Let them cook until browned on one side, then flip and cook until browned on the other as well. This will just take a few minutes.

filling

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a long tined fork. Add the milk and stir until the dough sticks together.

Divide the dough into ten ball shaped portions.

In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, cocoa powder, and sugar until it forms a paste.

Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch in a large skillet and place over medium high heat to preheat while you assemble pies.

On a floured surface, roll or pat each dough ball into a 6 inch circle. Place 2 tablespoons of chocolate paste in center of each. Dip fingertips in water and run around outside edges of crust. Fold over and crimp with fork to seal.

After oil has heated for at least five minutes, reduce heat to medium. Carefully add a few pies at a time to hot oil and cook until browned on one side, flip and brown on the other.

Remove to paper towel lined plates and repeat until all pies are cooked.

The fried chocolate pies brought back memories of my mother. When I was growing up, she would always make fried chocolate pies. Her recipe is basically like yours, except she didn’t mix the melted butter in with them. I made your recipe but had a lot of the chocolate mixture left. I took a can of crescent rolls and put some of the mixture in each roll and baked them They were delicious.
When I would tell my friends about my mother’s fried chocolate pies, they did not know what I was talking about. Oh by the way, this recipe was passed down to my mother by my grandmother.

Oh my chocolateness!! I have been waiting for you to share this recipe and here it is!! Thank you so much, Christy!! LOVE the picture of Katy Rose enjoying the wonderful aroma of the chocolate powder, too! I SO understand her love of chocolate! Will have to whip up a few of these this evening!

Christy, are you sure we aren’t related??? The chocolate pie is just like my aunt made when I was a little girl…and my Mother made peach (and apricot) fried pies from dried fruit. You post so many recipes that take me back to my childhood…thanks for the walks down memory lane!

Christy
My daughter and I were looking at my Facebook Page when your post about chocolate fried pies came on. She and I looked at each other. Couldn’t get over to your site fast enough. This is her favorite fried pie. We go to a local farm here and they sell all kinds of fried pies. I have wanted to make them, but just really didn’t know how to. I now can make them for us. Thanks bunches. I love the coconut cream type, but chocolate is right there on top also. This is going to be so good. Thanks for your site, nothing like good ole country cookin.

What a wonderful old fashioned recipe. My mother in-law, who was raised in Cushman, Arkansas has told me of these fried pies. She had to make do without much all her life, but she has wonderful memories, and I love hearing them from her. I will give these a try and take her some.

OH, Oh, oh. . . MY GOODNESS. . . “THANK YOU,” so very, very MUCH for this one!! We used to have a small, local DRIVE-IN rest. in the town where I grew up as a child, EVERY SINGLE “Friday,” our family would never fail to whip by and order up some “deep fried chocolate pies!!” YUMMY absolute D LISH, now I will make my own attempt at this one, too!! If this almost “hallowed” long gone recipe has made it’s way back to me. . . well it was simply “written in the STARS!” Chocolate Fried Pies, in peanut OIL!!! Oh my goodness, can’t wait to bake, Oh. . . never mind, FRY me up some PIES!!!!! YUM YUM!! THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRISTY!! You are one in a BILLION, a true jewel!! Blessings to you and yours ALWAYS.
Kaye

I always use butter when I make pie crust and it comes out perfect. I do keep everything very cold. Yesterday I made peach fried pies using your recipe and substituting butter for the Crisco. I used a pastry blender to mix cold butter into the flour mixture. I put the balls of dough I was not working on at the moment in the fridge to keep them cold while I fried up the first. My husband said they were the best he has ever eaten. They came out crispy and flakey!

Fried pies are a family staple. I remember while in college, our church made 1,000 of apple fried pies for the fall festival including drying the apples, cooking them, and making the dough from scratch with lard, flour and milk. I still like lard for pie crusts. I hated fried pies sometimes after that but they are one of my favorites again now. I prefer pies over cakes. Got to try your chocolate ones.

I just won Grand Champion at our County Fair with your Peach Fried Pies! Only my second time to make fried pies, ever, and after making them the first time two weeks ago, my sweet daughter-in-law assured me that I could win with your recipe. I think I got snookered; she knows that you only have to take three pies for judging, so she and my husband would get to test the remaining seven! Thanks for the great recipe. Can’t wait to try the chocolate!

These are delicious. I made these for my mom, and she has dementia. She still can remember these and asks me at least once a week to make them. This is definitely comfort food right here, scrumptious!!!

Wow! This is how my Mama Nell used to make her chocolate fried pies! And I loved them! She’d make a plateful of apple & peach and there’d always be several chocolate ones for me and my sister! Thanks for passing this on to others!

Oh my goodness! This looks SOOO good! I’m going to have to beg my hubs to fry them for me. He usually does the frying part in our house. My mouth is watering at the thought of all that yummy chocolate.

Christy,
I tried the Fried Peach Pies and they were wonderful, turned out great with no problems. Then tried the Chocolate Pies, and had a mess. They tasted good, but when I fried them, I guess the chocolate got hot and the pie just turned into a gooey mess. Dough and chocolate, ended up almost like dumplings. Any suggestions?

Instead, I told myself that I would try choc sauce recipe (below), but ‘increase cornstarch’ to make it thicker–to keep it from running out of crust while frying, (This following sauce is delicious over hot biscuits…)

My mother made fried chocolate pies. I enjoyed many! I was not smart enough to really find out how while she was still living. I’ve tried but have not been able to get the right ratio of cocoa and sugar. Maybe this recipe will do the trick. My mother used very little oil to fry. She made them in a cast iron skillet.